by jwleaks 14 Replies latest watchtower scandals
There was talk many years ago that in a ban there would be no need to meet in a KH as Heb 10:24,25 "commands" meeting together, but says nothing about a building or the size of the gathering, also Jesus talked about meeting even in groups as small as two and three,
This isn't making any sense,
What gives?
Well if it was staged depicting the Russian police as thugs hiding behind masks raiding and vandalising a place of worship of people who have committed no crime surely it will backfire on those who staged this video .
Surely the Russian Govt. would not let this go unchallenged and bring those responsible to justice
And if it was done by well intended JW `s to highlight the percieved persecution in Russia it would not do their cause one bit of sympathy only reinforce that they are a cult that needs to be curtailed.
This video has been compiled and released mainly in support of Dennis Christensen who is being held in jail in Orel. The org has also spliced in a couple other events: a fire that occurred in a village where a JW family's home was burned down by a drunken neighbor after a party got out of hand and a vandalism event at another KH.
About Dennis Christensen.
He is the man in the video at the meeting who is shown interacting with the police. The one wearing the light colored jacket. Watching the video clips without understanding the dialogue, it appears like Christensen has elder ranking in the congregation. If he was just an attendee with no standing, he wouldn't be behaving in the manner that the video reveals.
He was the one arrested and detained for organizing the meeting and he is still in jail, waiting for the authorities to finish their investigation.
Christensen is a Danish citizen yet he has lived in Russia for 10 years. He is married to a Russian JW woman and, according to posts on the European forum I like to read, he is the elder at that congregation and the one who organizes the "congresses"/conventions for that area.
When he appeared in court, he asked for a translator which delayed the first hearing. He claimed that he did not understand Russian well enough to proceed. His position, and one that is being claimed by the org on all their releases concerning his case, is that he "is just a believer", not even a member of the congregation, just visiting, an innocent Danish man who happens to be married to a Russian woman. Who has little Russian language skills. (and friends in the Danish Embassy....)
After asking for a translator, Christensen was held in jail and has recently had an appeal hearing on the order to hold him until the investigation is complete. He has lost that appeal.
According to the following article, representatives from the Embassy of Denmark in Russia appeared at the hearing:
Arrested Witness Dennis Christensen: "I'm cold, and I took away the Bible"
text Denis Wolin
The Dane was the first Jehovah's Witnesses, who was sent to jail after the ban the organization
Orel Regional Court on June 21 rejected a citizen of Denmark Dennis Christensen accused of organization of extremist organizations, in the appeal on his arrest. Christensen was the first arrested in Russia after the ban of Jehovah's Witnesses organization of the Supreme Court. During the meeting, the Dane insisted on the protection of the groundlessness of his detention, the accused complained about the harsh conditions of stay in the detention center and asked the court to release him to the family. During the meeting of the Open Russia correspondent observed.
Sitting in the Oryol Regional Court was scheduled for 14 hours. For half an hour before the start of the courtroom lined up a long queue. Support citizen of the Danish kingdom come several dozen adherents are now banned the Jehovah's Witnesses, and come to the representatives of the Embassy of Denmark in Russia. In the hall with not all the bailiffs were able to find a place only for 30 people.
While presiding judge Igor Spiders did not enter the room, the lawyer Dane Anton Bogdanov and translator Yulii Avakovoy allowed to communicate with his client. In court, the Dane was present at the monitor on a conference call from the jail.
- You will be able to see only the judge - once warned a lawyer. - We asked to be able to send a picture of the entire room, but we were told that the technical capabilities do not allow it to do.
The lawyer asked Dane to speak in the debate slowly, to make it easier to translate. "He understands everything," - after hearing answer Christensen explained translator.
A few minutes in the hall appeared the judge, and the court began to establish his identity and the circumstances of disclosure of the appeal.
Search and detention
45-year-old native of Copenhagen Ole Christensen Dennis was arrested in Orel 26 May 2017 by the FSB. Against him was a criminal case under part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization of the activity of religious organizations deemed extremist). In 2016, the court banned the activities of the organization "Jehovah's Witnesses-Eagle". However, after the ban, investigators believe Christensen at its base continued activities of the sect. On the eve of the detention of the FSB and the police raided the house, where they spent the Jehovah's Witnesses congregation. According to then control the press service, the security forces have been withdrawn, "more than 1,500 copies of religious literature, including the extremist nature, audio, and video collections, electronic media, computer equipment, accounting documentation, which reflects the amount of financing structures, sources of cash means forms of subscription lists with contact information of community members to refuse their civic duties. ' "Polls about 50 members of the local community MPO SI" Eagle were also carried out, - added to the FSB - during which evidence obtained against defendant in a criminal case and his involvement in illegal activities. "
Soviet District Court of Eagle Christensen was arrested for two months. His defense did not agree with this, and the decision has been appealed.
*read full article at link
steve2: I can't quite fathom out the purpose of the replayed scenes in the video of men vandalising the interior of a Kingdom Hall in the dead of night - and staring at the CCTV. They do not look at all like police, but more like common thugs. The video shows these scenes st least 4 different times creating impression thus vandalism of Halls is common. And the video of a large man slithering out of a window - who videod it? It looks staged.
It disturbs me to see violent actions that result in damage - It's a relief that this violent act only resulted in loss of property and didn't hurt anybody.
It's interesting that all this footage has been released. A few photos of the damage were posted online right after it happened but there was nothing said about actual footage being captured or that they had clear images of the vandals' faces. And now this is released.
What I have been thinking about is how this event has occurred after the Kingdom Halls were scheduled for seizure by the state following the Supreme Court ruling. The property that was damaged and treated so badly was property that was going to be lost by the JWs. It wasn't even really theirs anymore. So, the question that keeps popping into my mind is this: who was pissed about the Supreme Court ruling? who trashed the building and stuff that the government had just made possible to be seized?
*Yup...the more I think about it, Steve, I am with you on this one. Except, not staged. It was just footage that was taken during a couple guys retaliation for having their precious building seized. I had an ex-husband like that - if he had a car or something that he was supposed to give back, he would take a sledge hammer to it first. "Here - take the damned car". Bailiffs encounter that all the time - destroyed property that was supposed to be seized.
I think it was a couple JW guys who did it and decided to finally grab the camera, not really concerned about it at first. And then, the footage was used to make it seem like a persecution event
Does anyone have updates on this?
